


Intermission

by MelyndaR



Series: Don't Fear the Fall [7]
Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: F/F, F/M, Polyamory, Relationship Discussions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-15
Updated: 2020-03-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:54:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23155891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MelyndaR/pseuds/MelyndaR
Summary: “I am asking you,” it was clear Chakotay was choosing his words carefully, but they were still suddenly having this conversation, and Kathryn really wasn’t even sure how. “If you had sex with your friend in order to save his life.”
Relationships: Chakotay/Kathryn Janeway/Seven of Nine, past Kathryn Janeway/T'Pel (Star Trek)/Tuvok (Star Trek)
Series: Don't Fear the Fall [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1552054
Comments: 1
Kudos: 13





	Intermission

**Author's Note:**

> While I wanted Triplicity to come first in posting order, so that the relationship between Janeway, Chakotay, and Seven isn't a surprise here, this story itself takes place directly after Infatuations, for those of you who have been reading this series as I write it.  
> The title of this story has a bit of a double meaning, because it's not necessary (yet?) to the plot of the whole series, so it can be ignored as canon to the series if you would rather. However, there is a bigger plot thread coming in later stories where this will be referenced, so do with that what you will!  
> All of that being said, comments feed my plot bunnies, so I appreciate them very much, if you feel so inclined!

_ Clever, nosy little girl…  _ Kathryn reflected, a wry smile at the edges of her mouth as she stared out at the ever-present stars. Her pink, silk robe was smooth and cool against her skin, a pleasant contrast to the heat and thoughts that had driven her from bed, and a steaming mug sat untouched in her hands as she allowed herself to get lost in thought.

“Kathryn?” Chakotay stepped up behind her, his hands falling to her shoulders as his thumbs automatically sought out the ever-present tension there.

“Hm?” she asked, looking over her shoulder and into his dear face, crossed now with soft lines of worry. _Really, he should’ve been more used to her erratic sleep patterns by now. But then again, maybe not yet. This was still new, in a way._ She answered his unasked question, saying, “I was… thinking too much to sleep, I suppose.”

He sat down across from her in the window, frowning at the mug in her hands.

“It’s tea, not coffee,” she defended herself against what she knew he was thinking. “I do eventually want to go back to bed.”

He nodded, accepting that, and asked, “What were you thinking about?”

“Naomi Wildman, actually, among other things.”

“Oh?”

“Seven told me that Naomi came to her today, asking questions about Icheb and Q Junior.”

Chakotay winced. “She’s going to be very disappointed when she finds out that Icheb is taken, isn’t she?”

“Quite possibly,” Kathryn allowed, before continuing, “But Seven also said that Naomi asked about _Seven’s_ … relationship status. Seven’s pretty sure she’s been made, as it were.”

“But Naomi doesn’t know _who_ Seven is seeing?” Chakotay asked, and it was to Naomi’s credit that Chakotay didn’t even seem surprised by the idea that she’d figured _something_ out.

“No,” Kathryn shook her head, intertwining her free hand with Chakotay’s. “Seven is sure she doesn’t even suspect us.”

“Then there’s no reason for you to worry about it,” Chakotay informed her softly, lifting their hands to kiss her knuckles.

“You know that’s not true. What if people do figure out the whole story? Someone is bound to; it’s impossible to truly keep secrets on this ship. I was thinking of Harry, B’Elanna, and Tom, also, though.” Chakotay raised his eyebrows, wordlessly asking for an explanation, which she readily gave. “Maybe they had the right idea, beating… ‘fate’ to the punch, and telling someone about their relationship. Maybe…” she stifled a sigh, looking down at their conjoined hands. “We should do the same thing – tell the bridge crew, I mean, and swear them to absolute secrecy at the same time.”

“I would be okay with that,” he replied. “It’s not like any of them can hold it against us at this point in our journey. Not after Tom and B’Elanna have wedding rings and a daughter with Harry sleeping over every other night, and…” he trailed off, prompting Kathryn to meet his gaze, urging him on with the curiosity in her eyes. “I’m not sure that I’m supposed to know, or that you’re allowed to talk about it, but… Naomi isn’t the only one who can put things together. 

“ _Pon farr._ Everyone knows that the holodeck didn’t work for Ensign Vorik. I… am inclined to believe that it couldn’t have worked for Tuvok, either, despite what appearances would have us believe.”

Kathryn stopped breathing for a second as the careful question rose into Chakotay’s eyes.

“…And the only person,” Chakotay continued carefully. “That I know aboard this ship that Tuvok _might_ let that close to him… is you.”

Kathryn let the unspoken question hang in the air for a second before she asked the obvious, “You’re asking me if I had sex with my chief of security?”

“I am asking you,” it was clear Chakotay was choosing his words carefully, but they were still suddenly having this conversation, and Kathryn really wasn’t even sure how. “If you had sex with your friend in order to save his life.”

“To answer that very specific question: yes, I did.” Somehow, that part was easier to say than she had expected it to be, but now that they were here, and talking about it, it seemed wrong to say nothing else.

And he caught on, asking, “That’s a strange way to phrase an answer. Is there more to the story?”

“Far more,” she replied with a self-depreciating smile. “Though the story is _years_ old now.”

“I think I’d still like to hear this story, if there is one,” he murmured.

She extracted her hand from his, wrapped it, too, around her mug, and began “When Tuvok and I first met, it was clear immediately that we worked very well together. It was almost like our minds were melded. Well, no, that’s not true. We functioned well together from the beginning, even if we didn’t… always agree. But, eventually, after working together for a little while, he told me that his wife wanted to meet me – this woman her husband kept telling her stories about.”

“T’Pel.”

Kathryn nodded, continuing, “And what happened next is really her fault; Tuvok and I never would’ve even considered it without it being for her. I met T’Pel, and we also… connected instantly. She has a very human way of looking at things, sometimes, for a Vulcan, and she helped Tuvok and I learn how to truly appreciate one another’s points of view. She was a nice bridge between us, in a way, in those early days before we could really see eye to eye on our own together. When it was the three of us together, having dinner, going to a museum, or just… being at their house with their children, it all felt and flowed so naturally between the three of us.” Her heart stuttered again before she pressed on quietly, “Sleeping together just kind of… happened. It felt like the next natural extension of our relationship, and it just _happened_.”

Chakotay was quiet, processing, Kathryn suspected, but into that quiet an unexpected voice announced, “That may explain some of Commander Tuvok’s occasional dislike of Chakotay.”

Kathryn’s head snapped in surprise towards her bedroom door, where Seven stood, silhouetted against the dim light from the main room. “Seven. How long have you been there?”

“Long enough to hear Chakotay’s theory about Commander Tuvok and everything that followed. My regeneration cycle finished, so I was only coming in to lay with the two of you, but… I decided to stay out of your way when I heard your discussion.”

Kathryn winced, worried that explaining to Seven might prove more difficult than explaining to Chakotay. Seven must have seen the concern on her face, because she came over, gently nudging Kathryn halfway into Chakotay’s lap so she could join them where they sat. She wound her arms around Kathryn’s waist and propped her chin on Kathryn’s shoulder.

“You don’t need to worry about my… interactions with Tuvok,” Kathryn promised them. “He won’t… do… anything… romantic without T’Pel. He’s… romantically rudderless without her, and he and I have rules about how we behave towards one another at work, on missions.”

“Even though you’ve been on this mission for nearly eight years now?”

Kathryn nodded. “That’s partly the point. On missions, at work, the rule is that we’re only friends, comrades, confidants, councilors – everything but romantic. And we were ‘just friends’ on _Voyager_ for so long that the romance truly faded from our relationship as naturally as it had come.”

“With the presence and absence of T’Pel,” Chakotay noted.

“Maybe,” Kathryn allowed. “But I’m not sure it matters in any case anymore. It’s over, so that I can tell, I have you both, and you’ve made me happier than I’ve ever been in this quadrant. Please promise me you won’t let it bother you.”

Seven kissed her cheek, replying, “If you say we needn’t worry, we won’t.”

Kathryn glanced gratefully back at Seven. “Thank you.” She turned back to Chakotay, watching the conflict playing across his face. “Chakotay?” she asked carefully, reaching for his hand again.

His eyes were pools of worry, both bright and impossibly dark in the starlight. “Are you sure your relationship with Tuvok doesn’t just hinge on T’Pel?”

“I’m sure it does. Now, looking back, I think the romantic aspect of it always did. But I really do think that there’s too much water under the bridge between Tuvok and I now for us to go back to what we once were. Sometimes, in a way, I regret it, but, Chakotay, I do not – I will never – regret you and Seven. Even though my relationship with the two of you is new, I’ve loved you both for years, you know that. I just need you to believe it. I don’t want strain in this relationship because of the past. Please.”

“Alright.” The reply came out on a sigh, but she could tell he was sincere. He leaned in and kissed her, a type of reassurance they weren’t allowed outside their quarters.

Seven’s tone was almost childish as she requested of him, “Do you promise?”

Seven hated when there were disagreements between the three of them, when sometimes the arguments between Kathryn and Chakotay left her confused and helpless to assist them in resolving whatever the issue was. Better then, in her mind, Kathryn suspected, to just head a possible issue off at the pass before it could become a problem.

An indulgent smile ticked at the edges of Chakotay’s mouth as he repeated, “I promise.”

“Good.” Seven reached around Kathryn, tangling her hands with Kathryn’s and Chakotay’s in a mass that made the redhead smile. “Besides, it’s ridiculous to even think that we might be nothing more than an intermission filler in a relationship from the past.”

Kathryn turned to smile at Seven, at the steady, certain look the ex-Borg was giving Chakotay. “Indeed, it is,” she agreed, feeling her worry start to slip away. “Because I love _you two_.”

“And we love you,” Chakotay echoed.


End file.
